Pinterest Appeal

This is one of my blog entries from my media and culture class. The blog deals with Pinterest and all the aspects that surround this popular, up-and-coming social media site.

Why is Everyone on Pinterest?

For the hyper-organized and the people who want to get organized, the creative and the DIY-ers, the romantics, the planners, the photography enthusiasts, the makeup junkies and the down right bored of reading-ers– Pinterest is the place to be.

Pinterest is essentially an online bulletin board where you “pin” (like push pins) images onto pin boards that you create, which are set into different categories. You can choose from the suggested categories on Pinterest or you can come up with your own to express exactly what your board is about.

The biggest appeal of Pinterest is that you can follow boards that are tailored to exactly what you’re interested in. Say you find someone’s board on cooking particularly impressive, you have the option to only follow this board. If you like other boards by that same person, however, you have the ability to follow all of his/her boards.

This concept of choosing exactly what you want to see is what makes Pinterest so user-friendly. You can filter what content you’d like to show up on your home feed, and not have to deal with posts that you, frankly, couldn’t care less about. It’s gratifying to see posts that reiterate your beliefs and ideas, and not have to also become subject to posts that oppose these opinions. Not only is seeing posts that you disagree with frustrating, but it also makes you want to quit social media entirely, which is one reason Pinterest has done so well.

In an article on npr.org, “Nailing Down the Appeal of Pinterest”, Author Theresa Thomassoni writes, “And that’s the point. Like-minded people find each other on Pinterest to share ideas.” It’s empowering to know that there are so many other people who like the same things that you do. The ability to share those interests with each other is what really fuels Pinterest.

one-day-board — Here’s an example of a board that someone might be interested in. It’s filled with extravagant destinations, and adventures that the pinner, one day, would like to embark on. On Pinterest you are able to choose to follow this particular board as well as the other boards this pinner has created.

One of the most appealing things about Pinterest is its sheer look. Its web design is simple, clean, and organized. The categories and topics are all right there for you to search, and all of the “pins” are visually appealing. The backdrop is simple as to not distract from the images, and the images themselves are easy to digest. Unlike in a magazine, there are only pictures, so the most you’ll ever have to read is a lengthy quote or wordy caption. The pins don’t become popular if they’re blurry or low quality, so, typically, the pins that do show up are easy on the eyes as well. The website is simply pretty to look at– not too overwhelming, but far from boring or dull.

Recently Pinterest came out with the option to let customers shop off of the website. Before this new setting you would scroll through nice clothing and creative home decor and pray that once you click on an image there is an Etsy link attached, but now you can select the shop category and know that every pin is available to buy. Then you can pin all the items you want onto a board, like a wishlist. You can organize everything you’d like to purchase in one place, and then have it delivered to your door like magic.

Pinterest’s overall appeal, however, is not any hocus-pocus. It is basic science that has kept it so successful. Greed is naturally in the makeup of every human. Where Pinterest is full of pretty things, consumers want their lives to be made up of these pretty things as well, so they pin onto their boards and organize pictures of where they want to vacation, a new sports car, the next new renovation to their house, or a really cute pair of heels. Pinterest organizes our lives in a way that seems almost relaxing and stress relieving. On the screen everything is neatly placed into unique categories. People can find your boards by looking through Pinterest’s various topics. This creates an outlet to connect with people that are similar to us in the ideas and opinions that we share. It’s a place of sharing, socializing, and a way to paint a picture of what your ideal life looks like.

Citations:

First collage:
- Flower pot: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/384917099386559677/
- Wedding dress: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/384917099386544346/
- New York info-graphic: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/384917099386559589/
- Essie nail color: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ATiWt2YHdnP7ExO99ZE-KgJ4Q_vezYzO5rnuI2eaSSSPmBsEG_YgBj4/
- Long hair flower crown: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/384917099386544334/
- Updo: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/384917099386544345/
- Travel: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/384917099386544340/
- Street lights: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/384917099386544333/
Quote: http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2012/02/29/147596063/nailing-down-the-appeal-of-pinterest
Second Collage:
- Venice:https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AY4kUullPi48Jr0kXaIIFq8I_JejviznBISqhBZBCrau_8lqFQFEElI/
- Venice bridge: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/384917099385595086/
- Meme: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/384917099385589799/
- France: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AQ09hXxarTbp2NpuUuWNrjEaTNPCY6cTjQP8lPuUOpd9tDe-m0WfVQo/
- Santorini: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/384917099385192962/
- Positano, Itally: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/384917099385192831/

*Here is a link to my blog site!

Horror Films and Gender in the 1990s

Horror Films and Gender in the 1990s is a blog that I wrote for my horror and gender class. For each blog entry I discuss a different movie from the ’90s and what makes this film interesting in terms of gender. Below is one of my posts from the blog site on the 1996 slasher film Scream.

SCREAM

In the beginning to mid 1990s the slasher genre was on its way out the door when it suddenly made a comeback in the late ’90s with Wes Craven’s Scream. Scream revived the slasher, making the girls essential to the plot, smart and pretty damn badass.

Scream is a post-slasher. It “improved the reputation of the whole subgenre”(Sotiris Petridis, “A Historical Approach to the Slasher Film”). Unlike the slashers of the ’70s and ’80s, the slashers of the ’90s, particularly Scream, took “a turn away from the punishment of sexuality and desire”(Petridis, “A Historical Approach”).

Since Scream is the first of its kind, a new type of Slasher, there is a lot to cover. For this reason I am splitting the movie to cover two blog posts. The first one will just be focused on analyzing the women in the film and the re-imagination of the “final girl.”

Image result for scream poster — Drew Barrymore is on the cover of the Scream promo. Although she dies at the beginning, she sets the tone for the entire film.

Casey Becker. The film opens with Drew Barrymore, Casey Becker, being harassed by an unknown caller. She tries hanging up and threatens to call 911 all to no avail when she discovers that the ghostface killer has her boyfriend, Steve Orth, tied up in the backyard. Through a sick, twisted horror trivia game, Ghostface decides whether she lives or dies. When she incorrectly answers the final question Ghostface wreaks havoc. Through a serious game of cat and mouse, Ghostface chases Casey around the house, although she is not afraid to fight back. She is smart and has a killer kick, but in the end Ghostface outwits her. Thus is born the film’s first badass lady.

If Drew Barrymore, a megastar of the ’90s and the poster girl isn’t safe than who is? Her presence in the film sets a precedent for the whole movie: “motives are incidental,” and the usual horror movie tropes aren’t applicable. Scream rewrites the genre, and this can all be seen in just the first 15 minutes.

Image result for tatum scream — *Scream* is a completely self aware film. This shot is purposeful because, as we all know, the girl with the boob shot always dies.

Tatum. Tatum is best described as the sidekick. She is Sidney Prescott’s (the protagonist) best friend. She is bubbly and always has “Sid’s” back. Tatum serves as the films “dumb blonde,” but as we later see she is far from it. Tatum is the typical slasher film victim: “beautiful, sexually active woman”(Carol J. Clover, “Her Body, Himself”). Tatum is the girl that is in every slasher, who is used as a pretty face to be brutally murdered. Scream is a different kind of slasher, however. Tatum has a quick wit and isn’t afraid to assert herself. She teases and picks on her older brother numerous times throughout the film and uses her big personality to get her way. In Tatum’s final death she, like Casey, does not go down without a fight. She’s definitely smart and can hold her own, but as she tries to get away from Ghostface through the cat door in the garage, she can’t fit and ends up as Ghostface’s perfect bait.

Image result for tatum death scream — Tatum is hanged by the garage door, her body on display.

Image result for gale weathers in scream — **Gale is cutthroat. Even if she does forget the safety, she makes a pretty good speech beforehand, and ultimately triumphs in the end.**

Gale Weathers. Gale is the local reporter and she’s hungry for fame. Gale rises as one to the two final survivors in Scream. Not only does Scream change the status quo by adding another “final girl,” but Gale is far from the typical final girl; “She is career oriented, selfish, vain, ambitious, and largely amoral”(Valerie Wee, “Resurrecting and Updating the Teen Slasher”). Carol J. Clover describes the final girl as “boyish,” however, Gale does not fit this description. Following along with the conventions of the final girl, Gale does have a gender ambiguous name (a common trait among final girls), and her career focused personality and aggressiveness may be seen as a masculine qualities. Gale, however, is very feminine in her dress, she is flirtatious, and is ready to kick ass whenever necessary. Gale is the final girl for the female audience.

Sidney Prescott. Although both Gale and Sidney come together to defeat the killer and they’re both dubbed “the final girls,” if we were to chose one, however, Sidney would be her. We follow the film through Sidney’s point of view; we are rooting for her from the very beginning and she is ultimately the protagonist. Sidney asserts herself right off the bat. When she receives the first call from Ghostface, he asks why she doesn’t like scary movies. Sidney replies that the girl in the movies is usually dumb “She’s always running up the stairs when she should be going out the front door. Its insulting.” Sidney isn’t falling for the bullshit in the horror films, she’s smarter than that.

Sidney is tough and quick on her feet, which is apparent in her escape tactics during her various encounters with Ghostface. Sidney is definitely a strong final girl, but one of her most transgressive qualities– the one that sets her most apart from other final girls is that she has sex! The last girl to live is always a virgin, but not Sidney. Sidney is the ultimate final girl. Voted number one on Buzzfeed’s “The 25 Fiercest Final Girls” she is described as “strong, resilient, sharp, and fearless”(Louis Peitzman) and I couldn’t agree more.

Sidney trumps Clover’s argument that the final girl is “compromised from the outset by her masculine interests, her inevitable sexual reluctance, her apartness from other girls”(Her Body, Himself). Sidney, although reluctant to have sex at first, later admits her interest in starring in a porno right before finally having sex. She definitely doesn’t come off as masculine through the way she dresses and her stoic demeanor, and she isn’t “othered.” Sidney has a close group of friends and although she is set apart because of her mother’s brutal death, she doesn’t have a distinct “apartness” from the other girls. She has a boyfriend and a best friend, Tatum. Tatum always has her back, and just like typical high school besties they’re inseparable. Sidney does not fit into Clover’s argument of the “final girl.” She transcends the boundaries.

Since she is the audience’s point of view, I would make the argument that she is who the film intended on being the final girl, but Gale’s role is imperative and not to be overlooked. Both Gale and Sidney team up to defeat the killer and they both end up living in the end. Scream is the ultimate girl power promoting horror film. Gale and Sidney “save themselves, and each other”(Valerie Wee, “Resurrecting and Updating the Teen Slasher”). Neither of them could do it without the other. Take that patriarchy!

Image result for sidney prescott scream 1996 — Sidney’s resilience and determination shows in this shot when she gets the first call from Ghostface.

Citations:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/louispeitzman/the-25-fiercest-final-girls-of-horror?utm_term=.xre7knwOp#.ygYPZV5Y1
http://www.themarysue.com/scream-feminist-friendly-horror/
file:///home/chronos/u06a324947e510a59922ebcd58c862f12fc2b7761/Downloads/Resurecting&UpdatingTheTeenSlasher.pdf
https://www.google.com/search?q=tatum+scream&rlz=1CASMAE_enUS568US568&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjyzOvUg6zSAhUJ6oMKHdbHB7EQ_AUICCgB&biw=1366&bih=654#imgrc=j_G5hBxVr2OEQM:
https://www.google.com/search?q=scream+poster&rlz=1CASMAE_enUS568US568&biw=1366&bih=654&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXnreL56vSAhWpzIMKHR_uAooQ_AUI2gEoAQ#imgrc=_
https://www.google.com/search?q=tatum+death+scream&rlz=1CASMAE_enUS568US568&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=654&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiPu5TFmazSAhVH3IMKHaGKDBQQ_AUIBygC#imgrc=KjEe6UDKYQkUGM:
https://www.google.com/search?q=gale+weathers+in+scream&rlz=1CASMAE_enUS568US568&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=654&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj6s8TJmqzSAhVI7YMKHRvKB5sQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=9o9UIM3oTRwjWM:
https://www.google.com/search?q=gale+weathers+in+scream&rlz=1CASMAE_enUS568US568&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7g9jO_azSAhVj1oMKHT9QBT4Q_AUICCgB#imgrc=G-J1hcbI_x1WsM:
Clover, Carol J. “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film.” Representations 20 (1987): 187-228.
Petridis, Sotiris. “A Historical Approach to the Slasher Film.” Film International 12.1 (2014): 76-84.

* here is a link to my blog site!

“The Babadook”: An Unspoken Look at Motherhood

This assignment was a part of my horror and gender class. We had to choose a horror movie to analyze in a one to two page paper, and discuss the interesting aspects of the film as it relates to gender. I chose an in-depth analysis on the film The Babadook . In this paper I look at the challenges faced by both the mother and the effects that this has on the child due to failure to meet societal expectations of motherhood, which is represented through the film’s monster, Mr. Babadook.

An Unspoken Look At Motherhood

Childbirth and motherhood are not always joyful experiences for women, but society often hushes feelings of unhappiness related to this process. This, in turn, causes mothers to repress any negative emotions associated with this typically happy experience. Because the emotions are being held down this has negative effects on the mother, which also negatively affects the children. In an attempt to draw upon these very real horrors that can occur with motherhood, Jennifer Kent’s film, The Babadook, uses the monster “Mr. Babadook” as metaphor for repressed emotions and what this can do to both the child and the mother. Societal expectations also play a role in why the mother, Amelia, does not find help for how to deal with her emotions. The Babadook may seem like a typical supernatural horror film, but in actuality, it uses Mr. Babadook, as a representation of the realities of repressed emotions and the failure to meet societal expectations of motherhood, as well as the effects that this has on the child.

Repressed emotions and what occurs as a direct result of these emotions is a major theme that is seen throughout The Babadook. Amelia represses the memories of her late husband, and bottles up her emotions about his death. In one scene her son, Samuel, ventures into the basement where pictures of his father are stored. Amelia runs downstairs and yells at him to never go down there again, to which Samuel retorts that she is hiding his father from him. Amelia’s repressed emotions are figuratively embodied in the Babadook; the more she ignores her husband’s death, the stronger “the Babadook” gets. Amelia, however, is unable to find solace in friends and family because no one understands. She refuses to seek help in support groups, and when her husband is brought up in conversation she ignores the subject. Mr. Babadook becomes the embodiment of Amelia’s emotions, and as she continues to ignore her problems her demons grew stronger.

Society makes it very hard for women to voice their feelings during an unhappy motherhood. Women can feel like failures for not finding happiness from being a mother, so they often keep these feelings hidden. Amelia’s emotions are not given much attention to throughout the film. Lucy Fischer cites to Myra Leifer in her article “Birth Traumas: Parturition and Horror in Rosemary’s Baby” saying that “strikingly less attention has been given to [the trauma of birth’s] impact on the mother.” Seeing as Amelia gives birth, presumably, just following the death of her husband, the process was both scary and traumatic for her. Samuel is brought to many doctors regarding his behavioral problems, however, Amelia is ignored.The Babadook, like other maternal movies, including Rosemary’s Baby, confronts very realistic “demons.” Sometimes these demons come to the surface, which is portrayed in another scene in The Babadook when Amelia fears that she has killed her son. Her deeply repressed emotions regarding the unfair death of her husband and difficult birth of her son brings to the surface “the fears of motherhood that society wants hushed”(Fischer). Amelia is, understandably, grieving and finds herself unable to love Samuel until she copes with his father’s death. These sort of feelings are ignored and often denied by society.

Since Amelia cannot bring herself to be a nurturing, loving mother to Samuel, this brings out behavioral problems in him. Throughout the film, Samuel is violent. He makes various weapons, acts out and even pushes his cousin out of a treehouse. Samuel’s violent actions and obsession with the Babadook are clearly seen as anxiety as a result of his mother’s own psychological issues and faults. Lucy Fischer talks about the maternal fear that a child will end up with all of the “bad” characteristics of the mother, like aggression or repression of emotions. The Babadook’s characterization of Samuel brings this fear to the surface. Amelia is shown as impatient, emotionally distraught, and occasionally aggressive. Samuel is the result of the trauma that Amelia faces. Amelia, unable to cope with her husband’s death, has a hard time listening and acting like a mother to Samuel. He shows her magic tricks and inventions that he has made, but Amelia pays little attention to him. In fact, she occasionally scolds him and tells him to stop being such a pain. Because of the death of her husband, she cannot seem to find a mother-son bond with Samuel. This lack of a motherly love can be seen in the ways in which Samuel lashes out.

The Babadook metaphorically points to the challenges that are very real for a lot of mothers. Amelia’s repressed emotions are as a result of the stigma that society places on mothers who cannot love. Because Amelia is nervous of the backlash that she may receive for being unable to love Samuel and because she hasn’t yet accepted her husband’s death, she finds it difficult to seek out help and new relationships. As a result of this, she is unable to be a loving mother to Samuel, which is shown in his violent outlashes at school and with family. Through their journey during the movie, the Babadook becomes stronger and stronger until it finally blows up and refuses to be ignored. Amelia confronts her inner, repressed emotions. This is symbolically shown at the end of the film when she finally chooses to celebrate Samuel’s birthday which falls on the anniversary of her husband’s death. She is then shown “feeding” Mr. Babadook in the basement. He is kept in the basement because this is where Amelia’s husband’s belongings are also kept, and he is shown being “fed” to portray how Amelia is now dealing with her emotions, rather than repressing them. The Babadook describes a journey of a single mother and her son, and it forces unspoken maternal problems to be talked about.